Kenya forms First FinTech Bridge between an African Financial Regulatory Authority and the UAE

The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) of Kenya and Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the International Financial Centre in Abu Dhabi have signed a Cooperation Agreement which provides a framework for cooperation to support financial innovation in each jurisdiction.

The Agreement expands both the CMA and ADGM’s FinTech Cooperation network to growth markets with enormous potentials.

It also provides a framework for information sharing between the two Authorities to assist each other in keeping abreast of regulatory and relevant commercial developments in the respective markets as well as to support innovative FinTech businesses in better understanding the regulatory regimes in each of their jurisdictions.

The Agreement was signed by Paul Muthaura, the Chief Executive of CMA Kenya and the CEO of the Fiancial Services Regulatory Authority of ADGM, Richard Teng.

”We are committed to facilitating innovation in financial services, leveraging Kenya’s positioning in the region as an innovation centre. This is central to the implementation of the Capital Markets 10-year Master Plan which identified Fintech as an area in which Kenya could emerge as a centre of excellence,” said Muthaura.

To achieve this goal, the CMA is comparing strategies with its peer regulators to balance innovation and regulation.

It has conducted public consultations on its strategy towards the establishment of a Regulatory Sandbox structure to encourage innovation in the capital markets.

The CMA has already entered a FinTech MOU with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

On his part, Teng noted, “This is our first FinTech bridge with an African regulatory counterpart. The African continent is providing a compelling story of how digital technology can be deployed to provide financial services to the unbanked and unserved populations. Kenya is particularly active on that front.”

Through this collaboration, CMA and ADGM hope to harness the strength of each other’s innovation platform to encourage and support technology startups and innovators in advancing their creative solutions into new markets.

ADGM has similar FinTech bridge agreements with Singapore, Australia and Hong Kong to foster an open and inclusive global FinTech hub.

It has also formed strategic partnerships with FinTech leaders and industry players in the Middle East and Africa (MENA) region.